


Petrichor

by Pepper (Zalt)



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: F/M, Fluff, No Beta, friday fluff for the thryce discord
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:15:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22105408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zalt/pseuds/Pepper
Summary: Lothal has old customs that embarrass Pryce and intrigue Thrawn.
Relationships: Arihnda Pryce/Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo
Comments: 8
Kudos: 22
Collections: Once Bitten - Thryce Shy





	Petrichor

The first day of rain after a long dry spell was considered auspicious by the people of Lothal, the right time for namings and betrothals, the forgiving of old debts, and the start of new projects of any kind as the barren earth turned fertile. A time for joyful changes, the purging of the old, and new beginnings.

The Empire had no use for such superstition, and had swiftly banned the usual custom of a public holiday. The frequent Imperial parades and victory celebrations were intended as more than adequate compensation to keep the population appeased. 

This did not stop the locals from arriving late to work, leaving early, calling in sick, or forgetting to return after their noon breaks. Schools suddenly remembered long planned nature excursions, and by early afternoon the scenic areas near the capital were filled with festive groups of people celebrating.

Governor Pryce had a carefully vetted and loyal staff. They turned up at their regular hours and worked as hard as ever, but the mood was still restless and distracted. Pryce knew that when regular work hours ended, it wouldn’t be long before the first aide broke ranks and went home rather than participate in the staffs usual competitive late evenings, thus starting a slow trickle of sheepish departures. She was annoyed at this provincial behavior, but there had been too many setbacks to morale lately, so she might as well make the best of it. In the middle of the afternoon she magnanimously announced that she was giving her staff the rest of the day off as a reward for hard work and loyal dedication to the Empire.

As the last laughing and cheerful voices vanished down the hallway, she let the jovial mask slip and returned to her office to catch up on her datawork. At least there would be no distractions or interruptions with the rest of the planet out celebrating. Windows and blinds firmly closed against the light and sound outside, she hunched over and focused intently on the latest industrial reports.

Hours later, she was nursing a headache, and chasing a discrepancy in the numbers with the intensity of a predator hot on the trail of wounded prey, barely registering that someone had entered the office until the scent of a cup of hot caf that was quietly placed beside her distracted her from her mathematical trance. She reached for the cup without looking away from the screen, murmuring “Thank you”.

“You are welcome, Governor.” A familiar masculine voice responded after a beat, just long enough for her to start sipping the caf and nearly choking on it as she came fully to her senses. That wasn’t an aide, it was…

“Thrawn!” She glared at him, the effect somewhat spoiled as she had another coughing fit. The Grand Admiral watched her serenely, hands clasped at the back, while she pulled herself together. “How did you get in here?”

“The troopers guarding the lobby are ultimately in my chain of command. And the usual rather fierce guardian of your front desk had apparently been dismissed a few hours ago along with the rest of your staff. Knowing your dedication to your work, I suspected you might be feeling the effects of an interrupted flow of caf by now, without any aides left to keep you supplied. You are welcome.”

Thrawn’s face was expressionless, his voice as monotonous as ever. And still she knew he was laughing at her. She glared at him for a few seconds longer, then raised the cup of caf again and drank deeply of it. The taste was glorious, and she decided she would accept his offering and forgive him the intrusion. “How can I be of assistance, Grand Admiral?”

“By granting me an hour of your time, Governor. I could not help but notice that today appears to be a day of some local significance, though I am not aware of any events scheduled in the calendar. Perhaps you could enlighten me?”

Thrawn and his odd obsession with other cultures. Pryce started to shake her head, only to be reminded of the headache that had not yet had time to be relieved by the caf. Perhaps a break wasn’t such a bad idea.

“Very well, I’ll tell you… Let’s go for a short walk outside while we talk, I could do with the exercise.” Finishing the last of the caf, she locked her workstation and got to her feet, resisting the impulse to stretch like a loth-cat to get the tenseness out of her body.

Thrawn followed her as she strode purposefully out of the office, explaining as she walked that there used to be historical traditions surrounding the end of a drought, carefully weighing her words to emphasise how much *better* things had gotten under the Imperial reign, and how little the embarrassing rural customs of the outer rim mattered these days, really.

She almost had herself convinced when they stepped outside the building. And then she drew a breath of the cool air outside, and her words faltered. That scent -- fresh rain on dry earth, the amazing smell of life and renewal and  _ oh, a sudden memory of running barefoot through the grass, feet and calves and the edge of her tunic delightfully cool and damp after brushing against the sparkling raindrops, back when she was little enough that the grass would hide her completely once the rains started it growing again. Running and laughing and chasing the multi-colored lights of the insects reviving after the drought, trying to capture them in chubby hands _ .

Closing her eyes, she breathed deeply, inhaling the scent and losing herself in memories for a few seconds. Until she remembered her company, and opened her eyes again to meet the curious gaze of the Grand Admiral. 

“A credit for your thoughts, Governor?” 

The phrase caught her off guard, and she smiled. “I will give you this one for free. It’s just the special way the air smells after rain, you know? Like childhood and freedom and promises.”

“I will take your word for it. Rain was not a feature of my childhood. Nor does it have a particular smell to me.”

Pryce looked up at the blue-skinned man in front of her, studying his red eyes. After all the time that they had worked together, it was easy to forget how alien he truly was. And then there were moments like these. She felt a sudden pang of some kind of sadness. What kind of childhood did not know rain? Had he grown up on a spaceship? Was his homeworld so truly alien it had no freely flowing water? Did they live in domes, protected from poisonous air? What kind of evolution would leave someone devoid of the ability to smell rain?

How had she never wondered about his past before?

She moved to his side, touching his elbow. With Core manners dutifully acquired after his arrival in the Empire, he responded by offering his arm, and she looped her hand around it. “It’s a lovely evening, let’s take the rest of it off and go for a proper walk. I know a place in the grassy plains where the star beetles gather after the rains start and they wake from their dormancy. It is a beautiful sight. I will tell you what it was really like, back in the old days. And perhaps you can tell me something about your childhood in return.”

Thrawn looked down on her. Then he nodded agreement, the hint of a smile playing over his lips in answer to hers. 

“Perhaps.”

~*~

**Author's Note:**

> Mostly inspired by a friend who wondered if Thrawns superior vision was somehow balanced by him being deficient in other senses. So I chose smell as the only sense that I can't recall the books making him superior in :D


End file.
